Introduction
It was requested that I do a post on what I believe the definition of “salvation” is in Christianity. I will share with you all I know the Bible says about salvation in Jesus Christ and then go from there.
What is “Salvation”?
Before we get started on how to obtain salvation, we must first know what salvation is. Therefore I want to talk for a moment about the meaning of the term of “salvation”.
Let’s start out with the most obvious place to look for meaning: definitions. Let’s look at the Hebrew word for “salvation” and then its Greek counterpart. The Hebrew word for “salvation” is “יְשׁוּעָה”. You pronounce it “Yeshua” (sound familiar?). The Strongs Definition is “Feminine passive participle of yasha'; something saved, i.e. (abstractly) deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity -- deliverance, health, help(-ing), salvation, save, saving (health), welfare.” The Hebraic idea of salvation, then, is the idea of being delivered or saved from something. What is that something? Sin (and therefore death).
Sin and Death go together. In fact, the link between death and sin is so strong, that sin and death are almost synonymous. Consider the following passages:
Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
”
Ezekiel 18:4, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
Romans 3:22-26 (NIV), “22This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
By the first verse we see that disobedience of what God had commanded (which is sin, see 1 John 3:4) had a punishment: death. By Ezekiel 18:4 we see that anyone that sins is guilty of death. Finally, we come to the often-quoted passage of Romans 3:23 which states that not only does sin lead to death, but everyone will die because everyone has sinned. Sin and death are very strongly connected. You cannot cause death without first sinning, and you cannot sin without having to be punished (for humans, die). Old Testament prophecy was all about the coming Messiah who would deliver (save) the Israelites from their sin (see Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 1:18 for example). Consider the following:
Isaiah 25:8-9, “8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Salvation for the Hebrews/Israel meant a Messiah that would come and swallow up death in victory. Jesus Christ did that when He rose from the dead.
Now we know the Hebrew definition of salvation and what Israel thought salvation was (their coming Messiah who would save them from death and sin). But what about the New Testament? Is there any difference? Let’s take the definition of “salvation” from Acts 4:10-12:
“10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
The Greek word is “σωτηρία” (pronounced so-tay-re-ah) and its Strongs Concordance definition is “Feminine of a derivative of soter as (properly, abstract) noun; rescue or safety (physically or morally) -- deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.” So we see a direct parallel to the Old Testament definition of salvation: it is deliverance or being saved from something (whether it be sin, death, hell, or sickness). From the verse above, it’s obvious what the New Testament authors thought salvation was: Jesus Christ saving people from sin.
What is “Sin”?
It is impossible to discuss how to obtain salvation without first talking about sin. Salvation is being saved from sin (and by implication its effects), so it is imperative that one understands what sin is. A clear definition of sin is found in the verse below.
1 John 3:4, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
Sin is breaking (transgressing) God’s law. God’s “laws” are those either spoken by Jesus or those recorded in the Old Testament (that were never superseded by a later commandment). Interestingly enough, that’s not the end of the definition of sin. Sin is also anything that’s not of faith (Romans 14:23). This means such things as doubt and unnecessary fear are sin. Sin definitionally is “missing the mark” (that’s what the Greek word “ἁμαρτάνω” [“sinned”] means from Romans 3:23) and therefore I believe sin can be summed up this way:
Sin is anything said, done, participated in, or advanced that does not have its origin/purpose in God.
This should make obvious sense. Conversely then, righteousness can be defined as follows:
Righteousness is anything said, done, participated in, or advanced that does have its origin/purpose in God.
These two definitions are important and will come up momentarily in our discussion of how to obtain salvation.
One last important note about sin is that its power comes from the Law. Sin is a meaningless idea without God’s Law. Consider the following passages:
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NIV), “54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 13:8-10 (NIV), “8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
In these Scriptures, Paul explains that sin’s power comes from the Law. A good analogy that explains Romans 3:20 in particular is a mirror. The law is like a mirror—it reflects how bad we are and how much we are in need of salvation from sin. He also explains that sin is (as I said earlier) powerless without the Law (for the Law is what gives sin meaning). From the third passage we can glean that the entire Law is based upon Love. Anything that is done in this life that is against love of God or love another person is not necessarily against the letter of the law, but the intent of the law (for an example see Matthew 5:1-20). From Paul’s way of writing we can take that violating the intent of the law is equal to violating its actual words (see 1 John 3:18 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 in light of Romans 13:8-10). Please note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that keeping the Old Testament laws keep God’s idea of “the Law”.
How does one obtain “Biblical Salvation In Jesus Christ”?
And now we come to the main question posed: how do you obtain salvation? It is actually quite simple. Obtaining salvation has two parts: Repentance and Faith. This is a dynamic duo that is inseparable for salvation to take place. If you remove Repentance, Faith is illogical and inapplicable. If you remove Faith, Repentance is futile and meaningless. This relationship is exemplified in the words of Jesus in the passage below.
Mark 1:14-15, “14Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Repentance
The Greek word for “repentance” is “μετάνοια” (specifically the word used in 2 Corinthians 7:9) and Strongs Numbers defines it as follows: “From metanoeo; (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication, reversal (of (another's) decision) -- repentance.” The Strongs Numbers website definition is a little shorter and makes the meaning of the word a little clearer: “repentance, a change of mind, change in the inner man.” Repentance then is a change of mind. A reversal of what you previously thought. The definition also uses the word “compunction” which means feeling guilt about committing a wrong.
Based up on the definition and grammar, then, “repentance” is the act of changing one’s mind about something (“changing of mind”) particularly as it relates to whether or not some act (or acts) you have done is (are) wrong (“compunction”). I will note that some people do not agree that Repentance is part of salvation. This is negligence to study Scripture at best and woeful misinterpretation of Scripture at worst. The New Testament is very clear that Repentance is part of salvation. For a sample consider the following five passages:
Acts 17:29-31, “29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. 30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”
Mark 1:14-15, “14Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Luke 5:32, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 24:44-48, “46And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48And ye are witnesses of these things.”
2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Luke 24:44-48 records that Jesus Himself said that after He rose Repentance would be preached in His name. Indeed, He did that before His death as we see in Mark 1:14-15 where Jesus specifically preaches Repentance as part of the Gospel. Later, in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul preaches that John’s baptism was unto Repentance (Acts 19:1-6). John the Baptist’ job was to bring people to repent of their sins (change their mind) in preparation of Jesus’ coming (Matthew 3:1-3).
Acts 17:29-31 says that Paul preached that God commands men everywhere to repent. Luke 5:32 records Jesus saying He came for the purpose of calling sinners to Repentance. Finally, (and in my opinion the strongest verse on the subject) 2 Corinthians 7:10 says that Repentance leads to salvation. The reference to “Godly sorrow” in the verse also implies compunction as we spoke of earlier in the definition of Repentance. It is therefore very obvious that Repentance is one of the two parts of salvation.
So one must repent to be saved, but what about Faith? Let’s look at that.
Faith
As with Repentance, let’s look at the definition of the Greek word for Faith. We’re going to take the word used in Luke 7:50, “And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” The word Faith here is “πίστις” and is defined by Strongs as “persuasion, i.e. Credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself -- assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.” Faith then is a conviction that something is true. However, it is something more than just intellectual belief that what is preached about Jesus is true. Consider the following verse:
James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
Devils know that God is true. Satan himself knows that Jesus came, died, and rose again. To him and his minions, those are just established facts. And seeing that I don’t think you’ll believe Satan and his minions are saved it therefore follows that Faith by itself is not enough to save a person. It takes something with Faith:…Repentance! (you thought I would say “works” didn’t you?). You must change your mind about your situation in sin and TURN to God (repent). Devils haven’t done that. They refuse God and choose to think out of His will and way. Therefore they believe but are not saved. This is a great illustration of how Faith and Repentance must go together. Another way to think about the difference between intellectual belief and Faith is that one must accept Jesus Christ, not merely believe Him. I can believe that Joseph Stalin existed, but it doesn’t follow that I’m a communist. I would have to choose to be a Stalin communist. In the same way, one can believe Jesus Christ lived and know to be true what He claimed, but you must accept and commit yourself to Him. This lines up perfectly with the Greek word for “believe” in John 3:16. The Greek word used there is “πιστεύω” and is defined by Strongs as “to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ) -- believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.” You must trust Jesus Christ. You must commit to Jesus Christ. You must believe in Him. See the difference? The word “believe” in English just has one meaning: to intellectually believe something is true or to know something is true. In the Greek New Testament, however, “believe” means much more (in relationship to Christ that is). It means trusting Him or receiving Him or committing to Him. These are all things the devils and Satan himself have not done and therefore why they can “believe” Jesus (intellectually know who He is and what He did) and not be saved. It takes action. This is not to be taken to mean you can work for salvation, but rather that you’re making a decision and not just noting a fact.
Now that we know what Faith and Repentance are, I want to explain more thoroughly what I meant above about Faith and Repentance each being worthless of itself with out the other. The reasoning is simple: If you believe in Jesus, but you don’t understand and/or admit you’re a sinner (repent/change your mind) then Faith is invalid. Why? Because think about who you’re having Faith in—Jesus. Jesus is the savior of the world who came to die for your sins so that you could be saved from God’s wrath, sin, and hell. If you don’t change your mind about needing to be saved (because if you’re not saved that meant you didn’t think you needed to be—at least before you learned of Christ) then it is illogical to believe in Someone who came to save you. Faith without Repentance is believing you need to be saved from something you don’t believe you need saving from. It’s illogical. Similarly, Repentance without Faith is belief that you need to be saved from your sin, but you don’t end up believing in any solution to that problem. That’s a sad place to be indeed.
Also note, that Repentance and Faith cannot be split apart because they don’t have to occur in a particular order. One can believe Jesus Christ and then repent of your sin accordingly by believing what He taught about sin, or one could realize they are a sinner and need a savior and accordingly believe on Jesus Christ as their savior. Faith in a sense is believing in what you need to repent about and Repentance is believing you need to change your mind about yourself and your sin. They are similar enough that they cannot be separated, but they are different enough that they are two distinct ideas. They must go together. However, this does not mean that there has to be a certain amount of one before the other. As Pastor Tom Farrell once preached, “I think they are simultaneous. I don’t think you can tell when one stops and the other starts.”
Summed Up
In simple short n’ sweet form, here is salvation:
Based upon the Bible, one must believe they are a sinner, in need of salvation from their sin (Repentance), and accordingly put their faith/trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ by accepting Him as their Savior, Lord, and God (Faith)—in no particular order.
Works
Before I conclude, I want to talk a little bit about how works fit into salvation. Works are not needed for salvation, but for some reason many people think they are (even among Christians). Also, one might take the explanation of Faith to mean that you have to “do it right” in order to be saved. One cannot work to be saved. Before we dive into the Scripture, just ask some logical questions. How much work do you have to do to be saved? What quality of work must you do to be saved? How long do you have to work? What kind of works must you do? To whom must you do the works? If you can be saved by working for it, then why did Jesus Christ have to die for you?
These questions alone disprove the need to have good works to be saved. Those questions are all subjective and depend totally on who you’re asking. It follows then that salvation cannot be of works because salvation is not a subjective event. Nothing about salvation is a result of something you’ve done—only what God has done (more on that in a minute).
Scripturally, we see the salvation-by-works is false. Look at the follow verses and passages:
Ephesians 2:8-9, “8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Romans 3:23-24, “23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
2 Timothy 1:9-11, “9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”
Galatians 5:14, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 13:8-10, “8Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”
Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
1 Peter 1:10-11, “10Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”
Look at the data! Scripture is very clear that salvation is not by works but by Jesus Christ’s grace. Notice, however, Galatians 5:14, Romans 3:20, and Romans 13:8-10 also show that keeping the Law (Hebrew Torah) will not save you either. We are incapable of keeping the Law and further salvation just doesn’t take that avenue. Paul said this when he explained that if righteousness came by keeping of the Law God would’ve made salvation come through the Law (Galatians 3:21).
Also note Romans 11:6. That verse establishes that grace excludes works. The passages after Romans 11:6 talk about how salvation is by grace—thereby further proving salvation is not by works.
What about James 2?
This is the part where someone will point to the one “exception” verse.
James 2:20-26, “20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Let me be very clear: this verse does not mean salvation is by works. I know that because of all the Scriptural data above (in addition to the logical issues). This passage is talking about the validation of true Faith. Notice the word “dead” in verse 20, “wrought with” in verse 22, “only” in verse 24, and “dead” again in verse 26. None of those verses say that you need works to be saved, just that faith and works must go together. This is not because works save you, but because works are the validation of your faith. The example James gives is perfect: a man without the spirit is a dead body. If you have no works it means that you might not be saved because you have nothing validating your faith. We see specifically which works in 1 John (as that book is devoted to specifying what works are indicative of salvation). When you are saved, the Holy Spirit comes within you to give you good works (Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 5:22-23). Therefore if those works are absent it is reasonable to assume that salvation is absent.
What Salvation is Not
I want to spend a moment clearing up some misconceptions about salvation that many people have.
First, salvation is not a prayer. Those who preach you must pray a “certain prayer” to be saved are incorrect in teaching that. Salvation is about accepting Christ—not talking to Him. Notice that in Scripture not a single person is saved by praying to God, rather they are saved by believing and following Jesus. Indeed, the adulteress thrown at Jesus feet barely said any words at all, and yet Jesus forgave her sins because He knew her heart (see John 8:1-11). Salvation is a transformation of your very person, not something that is spoken (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15).
Second, salvation does not necessarily have to be an emotional experience. We see many examples of this in Scripture. For example, Peter and Andrew just dropped their nets and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:17-20). Same with James and John the songs of Zebedee (Matthew 4:21-22). Same with Phillip (John 1:43). They didn’t cry or weep uncontrollably. This is not to say that salvation can’t be emotional, just that it doesn’t have to be. Lee Strobal said near the end of his book The Case for Christ thatwhen he got saved he felt a rush of reason. Everything was right to him. He even talks about how his salvation experience was not emotional.
Third, salvation is not of you. You do not choose God, God chooses you. Notice that John said we don’t love God of ourselves—we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Also, God in His infinite knowledge has built our world with the best life situations possible for as many people as possible to be saved. Therefore, God has set up our world knowing who would accept His salvation off and who wouldn’t and accordingly “predestined” those that would accept His salvation to be saved (Romans 8:29 says God predestined those whom he foreknew). See Ephesians 1:3-6, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:10-11, Revelation 17:8 for more about predestination. This may sound quite Calvinistic, but it is just my personal opinion based upon Scripture and God’s character. Note that I do not mean that salvation only extends to a certain, elect group of people. This would clearly violate 1 John 2:2.
Fourth, salvation is not temporary or contingent on one’s actions. You cannot be lost after being saved. This, like Repentance and Faith, is very well observed in the Bible. See the following Scriptures:
Ephesians 1:13-14, “13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 2:8-9, “8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Romans 3:23-25, “23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
The first two verses show simple logic. When you’re saved, you’re sealed (marked) with the Holy Spirit. You have the Holy Spirit for (not until) either you die or when Jesus comes back. The Spirit is the “earnest” or the “down payment” for your inheritance (Heaven). So if the Spirit is your guarantee of entrance into Heaven, and you cannot lose Him, then how can you be lost? You can’t!
Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation is a gift. Is a gift a gift if you have to give it back because of some action or sin in your life? No it’s not. Salvation is a gift that once you’ve received it you cannot lose it. If you ever had to give it back for some reason then what did Jesus die for? He came to save you, but obviously His death didn’t cover your sin completely or He only died for you with conditions if you can lose the gift of salvation. Do we see that language in Scripture? Never. Nowhere does Jesus ever say, “Believe me and pray to be saved if you sin again.” John 3:16 doesn’t say, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life except…only if…when…but…” It’s not there! Don’t ever think it is.
Romans 3:23-25 says that all have sinned and that we receive redemption through Jesus Christ. The Greek word used for “redemption” here is “ἀπολύτρωσις” and is defined by Strongs as “(the act) ransom in full, i.e. (figuratively) riddance, or (specially) Christian salvation -- deliverance, redemption.” It is the paying of a ransom in full. To say that someone can be lost after committing some particular sin is to accuse of the Cross of being insufficient to cover that sin. Remember Paul said that where sin abounded Grace abounded much more (Romans 5:19-21). It is very obvious salvation is not conditional and that it doesn’t need to have a standard of behavior to be “kept”. Indeed, salvation is not something to be kept—it’s something that’s received.
Fifth, there are no “unforgiveable sins”. I’m sure, however, you’re wondering about Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10 where Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. You need to look at several things when considering those passages. One is context. Matthew is a little more detailed about the context in which Jesus makes this statement than Luke.
Matthew 12:31-32, “31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
Now this is what Jesus spoke, but consider the context of the beginning of Jesus’ speech here.
Matthew 12:24, “24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:”
…and from there Jesus launches into His response—which includes Matthew 12:31-32. Therefore, Jesus is making this statement in response to the Pharisees. Notice He says in verse 33, “Wherefore I say unto you…” (emphasis mine). Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and is telling them that their blasphemy will keep them from Heaven. Not because blasphemy stops one from entering Heaven (more on that in a moment), but because their hearts were absolutely stone cold. They were beyond their time for salvation (see 2 Corinthians 6:2). This would go right in line with what Jesus had said about the Pharisees earlier in Matthew 5:20: “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
The above is the opinion of Dr. Charles Stanley of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. While I think this is a very plausible and rational answer, I have a slightly different opinion though it stems from what he believes. I believe that Jesus is speaking more to rejection of the Holy Spirit’s person and work than to actually literally using His name blasphemously. The HELPS™ Word-studies also mentions something about the Greek behind the passage (specifically the word “βλασφημία” which is the word “blasphemy” in Matthew 12:31): “blasphēmía (from blax, "sluggish/slow," and 5345 /phḗmē, "reputation, fame") – blasphemy – literally, slow (sluggish) to call something good (that really is good) – and slow to identify what is truly bad (that really is evil). Blasphemy (988 /blasphēmía) "switches" right for wrong (wrong for right), i.e. calls what God disapproves, "right" which "exchanges the truth of God for a lie" (Ro 1:25). See 987 (blasphēmeō).” This shows that the word (which is a noun in the verse 31) more has a connotation of lying about Holy Spirit, which is indeed what the Pharisees were doing by ascribing Jesus’ work through the Holy Spirit to devils. Therefore, I believe this statement by Jesus means that rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit and attributing His work to demons prohibits you from being saved. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is a vital part of salvation (Titus 3:5). We saw that above where we talked about the Spirit marking you for entrance into Heaven. The Holy Spirit also indwells you as a believer (Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 4:8, Luke 11:13, John 14:15-18, John 14:26, John 15:25-27, John 16:1-15). Thus, the Pharisees’ hardened hearts showed that they were beyond saving. This would make sense in light of Jesus saying you had to be more righteous than the Pharisees to get into Heaven (Matthew 5:20). Their willingness to lie about the Holy Spirit’s work when the evidence was clearly to the contrary was evidence of a heart hardened beyond saving. If one cannot get passed that kind of hardness through the Grace of God, you have committed “an unforgiveable sin” in a sense. You’re refusing to believe the route that brings eternal life to the point you will lie about it to force yourself to be right. You are then too hardened to be saved. You are in opposition to God so passionately that God will give up on you in a sense to a reprobate mind (Romans 1:16-32). How amazing is it that the religious experts of the day are the ones rejecting the One they claim to be experts on! It is a sobering thought.
Now to go back to the question of whether blasphemies themselves have some special quality that will keep someone out of Heaven. The answer is no. Think about the idea very simply. Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all Yahweh God expressed in different Persons. Therefore blaspheming the Holy Spirit is equal to blaspheming Yahweh God. Jesus just said Himself that blasphemy against Himself (who is Yahweh God) is forgivable (Matthew 12:32). Blaspheming Jesus and blaspheming the Holy Spirit is blaspheming Yahweh God. Therefore if Jesus actually meant literal blasphemy, then His previous statement about Himself wouldn’t make sense. Also notice that the first part of the passage (Matthew 12:31) says, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:” Jesus just stated that all blasphemy was forgivable.
Further, Paul was saved (1 Timothy 1:1, Acts 9:10-20) and he admits that he was a blasphemer before he was saved (1 Timothy 1:12-14). If he blasphemed God in any form that would be equally as sinful as blaspheming the Holy Spirit (since Holy Spirit = Yahweh God), but he was still saved. Therefore blasphemy won’t stop you from being saved (nor does it unsave you). That’s not what Jesus meant—which is clear by the context of the conversation of the passage. It’s also clear that salvation is not “interrupted” by blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (in the literal sense) because of the wealth of Scripture indicating once you’re saved you’re always saved and cannot be lost. In addition, there are all the verses that simply state salvation and don’t make any mention of an exception (these include John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:23-25). Again, John 3:16 doesn’t have an “if”, “and”, or “but” in it. There is no unforgiveable sin, so don’t ever think you’ve ever committed one. Jesus can save anyone from anywhere in life. You’re never too sinful or too “bad” to be saved (see Isaiah 59:1).
Sixth, salvation is not bestowed by baptism. The “going under” and “coming up” of being baptized is a metaphor for Christ’s death and burial and then His Resurrection (1 Peter 3:18-22). I think this misconception stems from Mark 16:15-16, “15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Notice that what Jesus says will keep them from being saved isn’t not believing and not being baptized, but just from not believing. Therefore, He didn’t mean baptism was required for salvation, but that those who receive salvation should be baptized in a proclamation that they have been saved and so that they would understand what Jesus’ death and Resurrection entailed. In a simpler plane, it’s obvious that baptism doesn’t save anyone because think of the criminals that were crucified with Jesus Christ. One of them asked Jesus to remember Him in His kingdom and Jesus’ response was that He would be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:39-46). That criminal didn’t do good works. He didn’t have time. He didn’t get baptized. He didn’t have time. He did nothing by cry out to Jesus. That’s all he had time for. He repented by admitting to his fellow criminal that they were worthy of death for their sins. He showed faith by acknowledging that Jesus would come into His kingdom and by calling out for Jesus’ help in saving Him by asking Him to remember Him “on the other side”. Again—Repentance and Faith save someone, not baptism.
Finally, salvation cannot be given to another person by prayer. Some people misinterpret James 5:13-16 to mean that one can pray for another person and their sins will be forgiven.
James 5:13-16 (NIV), “13Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
This passage is difficult to understand, but from my research the general consensus is that if the person is sick, it is because of sin. If they are healed, it is evidence they have repented and thus are brought back to health. This would makes sense since when Jesus healed, He many times reference the other’s faith as the reason for the healing (Matthew 9:1-2, Matthew 9:18-22, Luke 18:35-43, Luke 17:11-19, Mark 2:1-5 to name a few). However, at a more basic level, it is illogical to say that you can pray for another person to be forgiven and it will happen. If this were true, Jesus could’ve simply prayed for everyone to be saved and everyone would’ve been. This is not what we see in the life of Christ, so it follows that prayer for another person will not save that person. Also, even if the passage meant you could pray someone else’s forgiveness it doesn’t say they are saved, only that they have their sins up to that point forgiven. That isn’t salvation, just partial forgiveness.
Don’t some of wish we could pray another person into Heaven if we could.
Conclusion
So today we’ve seen what true, Biblical salvation is: Jesus Christ (John 14:6). He is the only Way by which a person can be saved. Therefore I quote His words from Mark 1:15, “…The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
If you’re an unbeliever reading this and want to be saved, the way to do it is very simple: Repent and Believe. You must acknowledge you’re a sinner (Romans 3:23) and that your sin means you must bear the punishment for it—separation from God in Hell (Isaiah 59:1-3, Revelation 20:15). This is easily remedied by the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was both Man and God (John 1:1), born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18), and lived a sinless life (1 Peter 2:21-25). Specifically, He was the Son of God (John 1:44-51) and God the Father Himself—Yahweh (John 10:30). He came for the express purpose of dying for your sin that separates you from God (1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:8, Romans 3:21-26, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10, Hebrews 9:27-28). Whoever will repent and (realizing you’re a sinner that cannot save her-/himself) accept Jesus Christ’s person and work by faith will be saved (John 3:16, Romans 10:13, Acts 16:31, John 4:11-14, Mark 2:5, John 1:29-30, John 1:34, John 1:35-36). Indeed, “Christ” in His name means He was the prophesied Messiah of the Jewish people—and He fulfilled every prophecy to the smallest detail (John 4:25-26, Luke 2:10-13, Luke 4:40-41, John 1:40-42, John 1:44-51). The probability of one man fulfilling just 40 of the Old Testament, Jewish prophecies (which isn’t even all of them) is equal to covering the entire state of Texas in silver dollars end-to-end many times over until they reach the moon, painting one red, and then, while blind-folded, roaming over Texas and then picking the red silver dollar at random. That’s the statistical improbability of one person fulfilling just 40 of the Old Testament prophecies at once—and Jesus Christ did that (see The Case for Christ by Lee Strobal). That takes serious consideration.
You can be saved right now—just accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and God by Faith. You can express that in prayer. You can express it in the act of “walking the isle” at a Church. You can respond to a preacher’s Gospel sermon (provided it lines up with what the Bible actually teaches). You can respond by calling out to God verbally. What matters is that you do something (not that you work to be saved, what I mean is that you must respond to Jesus Christ’s salvation offer). Don’t pass up your opportunity. If anyone tells you that you can be saved whenever you want to, don’t believe that. That’s a complete and total falsehood that is in direct conflict with God’s Word. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV), “1As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” There is a parenthesis of time in which God calls you. If you keep rejecting Him, He will eventually stop asking you to accept Him. This makes sense because if you continually reject the Gospel then it will become more and more meaningless each time you hear it until the point where it won’t mean anything to you at all. You will be too hardened to respond at a certain point. Don’t let yourself come to that place—accept Jesus now while you can. Further, you die when God says it’s time for you to die (Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”). You have no assurance you will live another second. God in His mercy is allowing you to live so that you can be saved, love Him, and serve Him. He loves you and wants to save you (John 3:16). Don’t spurn the love of Christ.
God is beckoning you with what you are reading right now. After what you’ve learned in this post you no longer have the excuse at the judgment that you “never heard”. God has provided the tools to obtain Salvation by dying for you in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s yours for the asking. Repent and have Faith. As one of my favorite songs pleads…
Lift up your face,
lift up your face.
Salvation is calling,
salvation is calling your name.
God bless,
Robert Austin Rowlett
